CR-011. Yuri Didenko. Beethoven, Brahms

Yuri Didenko was born in Ukraine in 1966. Studied music at the Central Musical school
un-der the Moscow Conservatoire with Alexander Mndoyants and later at the Moscow
Conservatoire with professor Merzhanov. Now teaches at the Moscow Conservatoire.
Winner of the first pianoforte prize as well as Crystal Bowl at the International Young
Concert Artists Competition in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Great Britain, 1992. Won diplomas at
the International competitions in Salerno, Italy, in 1991, and Vibo-Valentia, Italy, 1992.
Won speñial prize at the Emmanuel Durlet International competition, Belgium, 1993. Also
won a Drs. Willcoxon and Danbridge Prize at the Missouri Southern International Piano
competition, Joplin, USA, 1994.
Performs as soloist, giving recitals and playing piano concertos in the best concert halls
of Moscow, including Great Hall of the Moscow Conserva-toire, performing and making
recordings with some of the most famous Russian orchestras, such as The Moscow Symphony
Orchestra, Television and Radio Orchestra. He played with many eminent conductors, among
them - Vladimir Ziva, Alexander Mikhailov, Imant Kozinsh, Fuat Mansurov.
He also tours in many other cities of the former USSR and abroad - in Belgium, Italy,
Germany, Great Britain.
A British magazin Pianoforte referred to his performances as "bold, open, powerful,
and technically accomplished old-school virtuosity... if this is the standard of Moscow's
thirty-year-old, let us hope we hear more of them".
The Belgian newspaper La Semaine d'Anvers wrote of him as of a "brilliant
pianist" and mentioned his "large and bright sonority" and dynamism.
An Italian critic Piero Rattalino said that he was "not beating the piano in a
blacksmith manner like a typical competition style pianist would do, but played really
very well".
Yuri Didenko made numerous recordings on the Russian State Radio. He also recorded several
compact disks and MCs .
His repertoire includes works of different styles from Bach to Messiaen. Virtouso
compositions is one of his specialities, he performs such works as Six Grandes Etudes de
Paganini and Sonata in B minor by Liszt, Gaspard de la Nuit by Ravel and Variations on the
Theme by Paganini by Brahms which is represented on this CD; he also plays a lot of
Russian music, especially works by Rachmaninov.
Mr. Didenko gives masterclasses in many Russian cities and abroad, he served as a jury
member and the chairman of the jury at several international piano competitions.